


fugitive

by inkin_brushes



Series: Immortals (Vamp AU) [23]
Category: VIXX
Genre: Alternate Universe - Vampire, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-05
Updated: 2014-12-05
Packaged: 2018-05-27 11:07:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,781
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6282184
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/inkin_brushes/pseuds/inkin_brushes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hakyeon runs into an old friend.</p>
            </blockquote>





	fugitive

Hakyeon pulled his coat on, patting the pockets to make sure he’d put enough tissues and cough drops in them. They were suitably stocked, in his opinion, so he went over to the bed, hovering above the giant lump that was a sleeping Taekwoon. “I’m heading out,” Hakyeon murmured, and Taekwoon groaned.

“No,” he grumbled. His hand fumbled out from under the covers, grabbing at Hakyeon’s coat. “Stay, you’re sick.” 

Hakyeon fought down a smile. “I’m much better now, I promise.” He leaned down and pressed a kiss to Taekwoon’s forehead lightly. 

Taekwoon sighed. “Be safe.”

“I will,” Hakyeon promised, before slipping quietly out of the apartment.

It was cool in the tunnels, but outside, under the strong sunlight, it was very nearly warm. Hakyeon shrugged his coat off, finding his long-sleeved shirt was enough to keep him warm today. For a few seconds, he tipped his face up, letting the sunlight seep into him, familiar and welcome. It had been a while, since he had been out and about in the daylight.

He had parked his car a few blocks over, and after he’d tossed his coat into the backseat, he started the car, turning the heater on slightly. The drive to the supermarket was uneventful, and not very long, familiar enough by now. Hakyeon ran his thumbs over the steering wheel contemplatively. He needed to do something with this car, at some point. He wouldn’t need it after— well. He wouldn’t need it.

Maybe he’d ditch it after this particular shopping trip. The supermarket was too far for him to be hauling things on the bus, but there were smaller shops nearby Taekwoon’s place he could shop at if he needed little refills of things. Maybe.

Since it was early afternoon on a weekday, the large store wasn’t very crowded. Hakyeon opted for a basket rather than a cart, hooking the handles in the crook of his arm as he browsed. He ended up regretting that choice as half the store seemed to end up in his basket, from pasta to cookie dough, and it was starting to hurt to carry it. 

“Do I _need_ greek yogurt?” he muttered to himself, staring down at the container in his hand. “No, but I want it.” He tossed it into his basket on top of the hummus, turning to snag some ice cream down the way, and then froze. 

Yixing was standing beside him, staring with wide eyes, paused in the middle of reaching for some strawberry yogurt. “Uhm,” he said, blinking.

Hakyeon had several options here. He could throw his basket at Yixing’s head and flee like the devil was on his heels, potentially, or he could simply walk away, quickly, make less of a scene. Or he could pretend he wasn’t a fugitive vampire fucker and act like he had absolutely nothing to hide, in the hopes that Yixing would buy it.

Yes. Yes, he’d do that first, and if it didn’t work, _then_ he would fend Yixing off with canned tomato sauce and run screaming. 

Hakyeon forced a wide smile to his lips, shuffling his feet in what he hoped was a sheepish way. “Hey, Yixing.” 

Yixing looked bewildered. “Uh, hey?” he said tentatively. 

“How— how are you?” Hakyeon asked. 

“I— fine,” Yixing replied. “I’m fine. And you— you’re—”

“Fine.”

“— _alive_ ,” Yixing finished. “You— you’re alive.”

Hakyeon blinked. “Yes? Yes, I am.” He shifted his basket nearer, to give himself something to do with his hands.

Yixing shook his head in wonder. “We all thought— well, I mean not _all_ of us— we kind of figured you’d gone off to be with Wonshik and Hongbin.”

“Ah,” Hakyeon said, knowing he needed to tread delicately here. “No, I— no.”

Yixing stared at him, and Hakyeon wondered if things were about to get ugly. If Yixing called for backup— “Why, Hakyeon? Why did you leave us like that?”

Hakyeon flushed, the question bringing forth old guilt and shame. “I’m sorry, I just— I needed to get out, Yixing. I wasn’t well mentally, and I knew Kris would never let me go. He’d want me to be there directing missions, working with trainees, if I wasn’t willing to be in the field anymore.” He shook his head. “And I didn’t want to deal with the hounding, with the— the surveillance that I knew would follow, the harassment.”

Yixing’s face twisted. “I wish I could protest and say that things wouldn’t have panned out like that— but I know they probably would have,” he sighed. 

“I’m sorry,” Hakyeon whispered, not having to fake the sincerity in his voice. He was genuinely sorry that he’d had to leave like that. 

“No, I mean— I get it, you know? Kris is _still_ pissed,” Yixing said. 

“Will you tell him?” Hakyeon asked. “About running into me?”

“I— I have orders,” Yixing said, apologetically. “But for many of us at HQ, I think it’ll be a relief. Like I said, we all sort of thought— thought you were probably dead, one way or another.”

Hakyeon smiled weakly. “Well, you can go back and tell them I’m still alive.” _For now_. 

“Still alive and eating a lot,” Yixing commented, looking down at Hakyeon’s basket. 

Hakyeon also looked down at his basket, which was near overflowing. “Uhm, yeah, I—” He didn’t know how to explain this without owning up to far too much. “I’m not— alone. Living alone, I mean.” 

Yixing’s eyes widened slightly. “Ah,” he said, “ _ah_. Minseok will be insufferable after he finds out.”

That wasn’t the reply Hakyeon had been expecting. “What?”

“Well, uh, a lot of the others— you know what they thought— but Minseok thought you maybe had a boyfriend you’d run off with, said he remembered hearing you talking to Wonshik about one a while back.”

Hakyeon blushed. “I— yeah,” he said lamely. “That was definitely a factor.” A big fat factor because Hakyeon was a big fat vampire fucker, but Yixing didn’t need to know that. “Uh, anyway, Yixing, I— I need to— to go—” Hakyeon made a vague gesture, and Yixing nodded. 

“Yeah, I’ll— I’ll tell Kris tonight, okay? And remember Hakyeon, the VCF is still looking for you, so be careful,” Yixing said.

“I will, thank you,” Hakyeon said, almost moving to hug Yixing and then thinking better of it. 

Yixing watched with an unnerving focus as Hakyeon scuttled away. He considered dumping his basket and just running, but again, that would look like he had a guilty conscience, so he made himself walk to the register and wait in line, tapping his foot agitatedly. It seemed to take ages, when in reality it was probably more like five minutes, before he was walking out of the store with several large paper grocery bags filled with food.

His car was right where he’d left it, but suddenly it seemed like a big, hulking beacon, a giant sign that said _HERE I AM_. Hakyeon looked around nervously, but Yixing was nowhere in sight. He dumped the bags into the trunk, then hopped into the driver’s seat and took off.

No one followed him, he knew it, he was being so vigilant, but even so, he deliberately took himself on quite a drive, just to be sure. And even after over a half hour of ridiculous driving, he still felt nervous. His oak tree tattoo was serene, so Hakyeon knew it was all in his head, but he couldn’t shake the feeling.

He needed to ditch the car.

After parking the car near to Taekwoon’s alleyway, Hakyeon snagged the bags out of the trunk and hefted them to the grate. The spellwork was buzzing around him, dissuading people from looking into the shadow of the buildings. He didn’t take the bags all the way back to Taekwoon’s apartment, simply lifted the grate and brought them down to the base of the ladder. He’d collect them later, when he came back. So for now he left them there and then he replaced the grate and went back to the car. 

As he slid behind the steering wheel, he wondered what to do with the car. He could drive it out of the city and dump it, or maybe take it to a scrapyard and see if he couldn’t make a bit of money, or—

“Sanghyuk,” Hakyeon muttered, starting the car now that he had a destination in mind.

Sanghyuk’s apartment building was quiet when Hakyeon pulled up, dingy grey even in the strong sunlight. Hakyeon snagged his coat out of the back seat after he parked. There wasn’t anything in the glove department or trunk, nothing that he would be sad to part with. 

Hakyeon got all the way up to the fourth floor, right to Sanghyuk’s door, before he realized, belatedly, that it was the middle of the day and Sanghyuk might not be up yet. But he’d driven all this way, and was standing here, so to hell with it. He knocked, loudly, and then waited. 

It took some time, and another couple sets of knocking, but then finally the door swung open, revealing a puffy eyed, irritable looking Sanghyuk. He was in a loose t-shirt and boxers. “Hakyeon,” he mumbled, rubbing at his eyes, “what is it?”

Hakyeon sidestepped his way into Sanghyuk’s apartment, making Sanghyuk groan and shut the door behind him. “Good to see you too, grumpy,” Hakyeon said. Something felt— off, about the apartment, different than before. Hakyeon looked around and saw his little stained glass charm hanging above Sanghyuk’s door, the one Kyungsoo had given him. 

“I’m tired, it’s like, still morning,” Sanghyuk mumbled. He followed Hakyeon’s gaze, and added, “Kyungsoo took it out of your apartment and offered it to me, since he said you didn’t want it.”

Hakyeon absorbed that, looking Sanghyuk up and down. “Late night?”

“Mm,” Sanghyuk grunted. “I only got home a few hours ago.”

“Don’t work yourself too hard,” Hakyeon said, lightly teasing even though the words made him look at Sanghyuk a little closer. Working overlong hours could be detrimental to a hunter’s performance, which could in turn mean death, in the field.

Sanghyuk blushed, a little. “I wasn’t working last night.”

It clicked. “Ah,” Hakyeon said lamely. “Ah.”

Sanghyuk sighed. “What’s up, Hakyeon? We haven’t spoken since— since the night I got my tattoo.” He gave Hakyeon an appraising glance, seeming to wake up some. “Has something happened with that? You were acting so odd, on the drive home.”

“No,” Hakyeon said, shaking his head, “that’s not it.”

The look Sanghyuk gave him was shrewd. “And I suppose your meeting with Wonshik and Hongbin the other night also had nothing to do with that?”

God, how did he even _know_ about that. “You’re such a pain,” Hakyeon mumbled.

Sanghyuk seemed to take that as an answer in its own right. “Are you turning, Hakyeon?”

Hakyeon jerked. “I dont know,” he said, maybe a little too quickly. “I— I haven't decided.” _Liar liar pants on fire_ , a voice deep inside him hissed.

“Uh huh,” Sanghyuk said, sounding utterly unconvinced. “So if you’re not here to talk about you urgently becoming a vamp, then why _are_ you here?”

Hakyeon fidgeted, realizing now how maybe, maybe this was all connected after all. “I uh. I am giving you my car. Wonshik’s car. Whatever. _The_ car.” He pulled the key and clicker out for emphasis, placing them on the table.

Sanghyuk had been yawning widely, but it cut off abruptly, his jaw snapping shut. “What?” He clearly hadn’t been expecting that, and he blinked at Hakyeon in surprise.

“It’s too much of a loose end and— and I was spotted, today,” Hakyeon explained. “I’ve been parking it nearish Taekwoon’s place, and, I don’t know, I’m worried about someone seeing it, I guess. Besides, paperless as I am, it’s only a matter of time before I’d have to give it up. I figured if you didn’t want it I could just ditch it somewhere. But you do, don’t you?”

“Yeah, I— yeah,” Sanghyuk said lamely. “It’d be nice, having a car.” He trailed off, eyes going a little glazed and tone turning dreamy. Then he shook himself. “But what do I do if someone from HQ sees _me_ with it?”

Hakyeon shrugged. “I don’t know, you could tell them you found it parked outside your place one day, keys in your mailbox. Whatever.” 

“Yeah, I could do that,” Sanghyuk said vaguely, clearly thoughtful. 

“Also, Kyungsoo could always put wards on it, to help it be more unnoticeable.” The car didn’t need a whole lot of help in that regard. It was silver, and though it was a bit of an older model, it wasn’t jarringly so. It easily got lost amongst other cars in parking lots. 

“Couldn’t you do that too though? I mean, if you’re worried about being seen with it.”

Hakyeon colored. “I could,” he muttered, “but also I just— I don’t need it anymore, Sanghyuk.” He looked away. “There’s a lot of things near enough to Taekwoon’s place that I can walk it. Besides, I don’t—” Hakyeon cut himself off, because he was going to say, _I don’t know how much longer I’ll need to be going to these places at all anyway_.

It didn’t matter that he left it unsaid, because Sanghyuk seemed to read his mind. “Are you sure this decision doesn’t have to do with you thinking ahead about turning? Vamps don’t need cars, after all.”

Hakyeon pressed his lips together, knowing he couldn’t answer that without damning himself.

Sanghyuk sighed again. “Alright. I am not one to look a gift horse in the mouth. Or maybe it’s a gift car in the engine, in this case.” He grinned. “Thank you, Hakyeon.” In an unusual burst of affection, he stepped forward and pulled Hakyeon into a hug. 

Hakyeon hadn’t realized until that moment how much he’d needed it, and he gently held Sanghyuk in return, noting that the little shit had gotten taller than him. Blast him. “You should go back to sleep,” Hakyeon murmured. “I didn’t realize until I was at your door that you’d probably be sleeping but— yeah. Sleep.”

“Mm,” Sanghyuk grunted in a noncommittal way. He patted Hakyeon’s back lightly before pulling away enough to look Hakyeon in the eyes. “Are you sure you don’t want to talk about— stuff? I’m here, you know, and I won’t judge.”

“I know,” Hakyeon said softly, sincerely. “I know.”

“If you turned, I’d still be your friend,” Sanghyuk said in an even softer voice, and it was almost an offering.

“I appreciate that more than you’ll ever know.” Hakyeon pulled away fully, silent for a moment. “If you were me, what would you do?”

Sanghyuk seemed a little startled by that. “Well, I mean, I’m not you, Hakyeon. We’re different people.” He took a few long moments to think about it before shaking his head. “I don’t know, it’s impossible for me to say. I’ve never cared about anyone like you care about Taekwoon, and yet at the same time I think you and I feel differently about vampirism. We have very different perspectives on this.”

Hakyeon fought down a sigh, weirdly disappointed. “Yes, I suppose so.”

Another pause, and then Sanghyuk was speaking again, gentle, tentative. “Hakyeon, I think— I think you’re going to turn. I think the writing’s kind of on the wall.” He seemed to brace himself, like he thought Hakyeon might have another meltdown.

Instead, Hakyeon simply swallowed thickly. “It’s looking more and more like that, isn’t it?”

Sanghyuk was a bit thrown off by the lack of reaction to his words, but he went with it, speaking in a rush. “It— I mean— the first time I saw you two together, it was sort of obvious something was going to have to give, you know? And like Kyungsoo said, Taekwoon can’t turn back.” His face was very somber. “I kind of suspected, even back then, that this was how things were going to go.”

“You’re taking the whole idea better than I am,” Hakyeon muttered.

Sanghyuk shrugged good naturedly, his serious expression cracking under a smile. “My life got so strange so fast, I’m just going with it all at this point. You being a vampire is— well, it’s weird, but so is everything else, at this point.”

“Yeah,” Hakyeon murmured, thinking that over. “I don’t know, I’m not— not fully decided yet.” He kept _saying_ that, but he knew it was going to happen. Fuck, he knew. But he just couldn’t say it as a definite. 

“Take your time,” Sanghyuk said simply. “Taekwoon has forever, you know?”

“He does,” Hakyeon whispered. “But he shouldn’t have to wait that long.”


End file.
